Ceres (South Africa)
| Ceres | |||
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 22 ′ S , 19 ° 19 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| Western cape | |||
| District | Cape Winelands | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA toilet | ||
| local community | Witzenberg | ||
| Residents | 33,224 (2011) | ||
| founding | 1849 | ||
| Website | www.ceres.org.za (English) | ||
 View over the Ceres valley
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Ceres is the capital of the municipality of Witzenberg , Cape Winelands district in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Ceres is located about 60 kilometers northeast of Paarl and had 33,224 inhabitants in 2011. Ceres is named after the sister of Jupiter , the Roman goddess of agriculture, marriage and death (see also: Ceres ). The city lies on the Dwars River in a valley. There is also a Jewish cemetery in the city.
history
After the area was permanently settled by the advancing Boers with the establishment of their farms, the city was founded in 1849 like others in the region as a supply point for these surrounding farms. It got its name in 1858 when it was granted market rights.
On September 29, 1969, at 10:03 p.m., the area around Ceres was shaken for 15 seconds by the most devastating earthquake in South Africa's history. The magnitude of the quake was 6.3 on the Richter scale or VIII on the Mercalli scale . The tremors could be felt as far as Durban, 1175 kilometers away . Several aftershocks followed the earthquake. The heaviest of these, on April 14, 1970, had a magnitude of 5.7. The place was badly damaged by the quake. Even solid stone houses collapsed, mud houses were completely destroyed. Almost all streets were cracked, pipes burst and gravestones fell over. Some dams were also damaged. Due to the geological conditions of the Witzenberg chain , further earthquakes are expected in the future.
economy
Ceres is one of the largest vegetable and fruit growing regions in South Africa. It is also grown for export. In addition, fruit juices are produced here and wine has been pressed for some time.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bellavista , Ceres , eNduli (added), accessed November 18, 2013